Hope for the Hopeless
by AllyO2
Summary: Chuck has a hard time dealing with Bart's death and leaves. Blair deals with this by returning to a former bad habit. Serena hooks up with all the guys, and Aaron disapears. Drama ensues. But then again, when doesn't it? *Some Spoilers for 2.14
1. Chapter 1

_Dear Upper East Siders,_

_Absence is said to make the heart grow fonder? Or does it? When healing a broken heart, it is best to: A) Write romantic love letters to the heart breaker, in hopes that he/she will answer B) Let them go and find someone else or C) Get totally wasted and try to forget all about them. _Let's see, shall we?

_************************************************_

Chuck was utterly miserable. He'd been miserable since...since his father had died. Since he'd decided that there was no way that he and Blair could be together. Since Blair had let it slip that she loved him. He'd been miserable for the last week.

What does one do when they are trying to heal a broken heart? Simple. Get drunk, have tons of meaningless sex, and hide from everyone you know. Disappear.

And, in order to disappear completely, it's best to check into a hotel under a false name and only venture out at night. That was exactly what Chuck was doing.

________________________________________________________________________________

Blair was depressed. Serena could see it as plainly as the hair ribbon in Blair's hair. Sure, Blair talked, laughed, and gossiped like normal. But there was something wrong with her eyes. It had been one week since Chuck had completely disappeared. Blair had poured out the whole story to Serena. She didn't cry, didn't say that she wanted to find Chuck, or... She just told the story and left it at that.

"Blair!" At the sound of her name, Blair jerked and looked 'round expectantly. Disappointment clouded her eyes, Serena noted.

It was one of the other girls. Serena didn't even want to try to think of her name.

"What?" Blair said sharpley.

"Chuck's on Gossip Girl. Check it out," the girl handed Blair her palmpilot. "Look."

In the photo frame, there was Chuck. Chuck and some slutty-looking girl who had her toungue stuck down Chuck's throat. Chuck looked perfectly happy. Like he'd forgotten about Blair.

Serena didn't get to see Blair's face. But Blair gently handed the palmpilot back to the girl and smiled. "Thanks for sharing that...lovely picture with me."

The girl beamed and ran off, looking back over her shoulder and giggling. She was instantly immersed in a circle of preppy girls and questioned about what Blair had done.

"So, I'm thinking that we should go over to the Hamptons for the weekend," Blair said.

"Blair, it's freezing. What can you do in the Hamptons in winter?"

"Oh, I don't know. Get away from...this." Blair waved a hand around her. "Look around you, Serena, this place is totally boring. I mean, since when did this school become nothing more than gossiping, giggling girls?"

Serena looked at her. "Um...Blair, this place has _always _been full of gossiping, giggling girls," she said pointedly.

"Okay...but since when did they become so...snobbish?"

Serena sighed. "You're right," she said. "We need to get you out of here."

It wasn't only for Blair's sake, but also for Serena's sake. See, Aaron had decided that it was okay for her to have feelings for Dan. Serena had decided that it was not. So she'd told Aaron that she really, really wanted to be with him, but that she couldn't do that until she got rid of her feelings for Dan. And they'd both agreed that when she did, they would be together again. Serena missed Aaron terribly. But she also missed Dan.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Nate and Vanessa sat in a small diner, holding hands and drinking coffee. Vanessa said something funny, and Nate laughed. But it was an empty laugh.

Vanessa sighed. "Nate?" she asked.

"Sorry, what?"

"You haven't been listening to me."

"Sorry," Nate said.

Vanessa squeezed his hand. "Hey, it's cool. I know you're probably thinking about Chuck. Right?"

"Um...yeah." _Let's go with that_, he thought. "No one knows where he is. He won't answer my calls, and he's not at his hotel."

"I'm assuming that you already know it, so I'm not going to say about how "He's hurting right now and probably just wants to be left alone."

Nate laughed. "Thanks. C'mon, let's get out of here."

"Right."

They went to the park and hung around there for a couple hours.

________________________________________________________________________________

Chuck woke up and looked around the hotel room. It was dark, as the curtains were drawn over the windows. Rolling over, he hit something. Or _someone. _The person groaned and looked at him sleepily.

"Good morning," she said.

He looked at her, squinting. He'd say good morning to her, too, if he could only remember her name. Sarah? Sally? Jackie? Oh, well. What did it matter. Her name certainly wasn't Blair.

_Oops._ He'd forgotten. No thinking about Blair. Don't even think about her name... And he'd been doing so good the last few days, too. He hadn't really thought about Blair at all. _So we start all over again_.

He managed to get her out of the apartment, using the "I have a meeting that I have to go to. But I'll call you later, okay?" trick. Then he had breakfast. Then he had coffee. Then he had every single alcoholic beverage imaginable, and then went back to sleep. Then he woke up, then he drank some more, then when it was dark outside, he went out to some random club.

So was the new life of Chuck Bass.

**************************************

_Spotted:_

_Chuck, having the time of his life._

_Serena and Blair, taking some much needed time off to mend their broken hearts. _

Okay, guys, so tell me what you think, and be nice!!


	2. Chapter 2

_Chuck, I miss you. I love you. I just want you to come home. Please, please come home because I'm lonely and miserable without you here. I wish I could go back in time, to that night in the limo. Chuck, I need you..._

Okay, it sounded corny and Blair knew it. She could delete the e-mail without even having sent it, but the words still rushed through her brain. She missed Chuck. She wanted Chuck. Somehow he'd managed to get inside her head, to hypnotize her, to make her love him. She didn't know how he'd done it, but he had. It was crazy. Crazy, crazy, crazy. Just like her life.

Blair was packed and ready, waiting for Serena so that they could go to the Hamptons. She was anxious to get away from her mother and new dad, because all they did was lay around the house in their bath robes, kissing and talking about how their love was forever. Blah, blah, blah. Blair and Chuck's love could be forever, too, if he'd just stop feeling sorry for himself and come back to her.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Serena, could I speak to you a moment, dear?" Serena's grandmother asked her quietly.

"Sure, grandma."

Serena sat on the richly upholstered sofa and waited for her grandma to take a sip of her tea before she started talking.

"Dear, I've found your brother."

"Erik? But he's right..."

"No, dear," said Grandma with a chuckle. "I've found Charles."

"Oh. Well, according to him, he's not my brother anymore."

"Whatever. Either way, I've found him."

"How, and why?" Serena asked, confused.

"Because you deserve to know where he is, and because that poor girl out there should know, too. I found him through a friend of mine, who owns a few night clubs in Manhattan."

"Oh." Serena wondered why her grandmother had _really _done this. There was something about the story that didn't really seem true. But so what, as long as she knew where Chuck was. But should she really tell Blair? Blair was just starting to forget about Chuck, or so it seemed. Over the past day, she'd seemed more free, in a way.

Serena approached Blair, who was sitting in the hot tub watching steam rising from the water.

"Hey, Blair," she said.

"Hey." Blair said. She laughed. "You look like your all muddled up, or something. Something wrong."

"Nooooo," Serena said slowly. "Nothing's wrong. But something just happened with my mom. I'm not sure what. But I need to go and see her, okay? I'll be back by tomorrow, and it's cool if you stay here, but I need to go. Okay?" She bit her lip at the lie she'd formed so perfectly.

Blair laughed. "Okay."

Serena packed an overnight bag, got directions from her grandma, and left.

It wasn't easy tracking down Chuck. There were so many night clubs in Manhattan, who knew what one he'd be visiting tonight? But finally she found him. Or someone who had once been Chuck Bass. Someone who didn't really look at all like Chuck. Someone who looked like a walking skeleton.

His eyes were hollow black spots, swallowed up by the thick black lines that shadowed his face, which looked so sad that Serena actually felt sorry for him. He was drinking and talking to a girl who was sitting on the bar in front of him. She laughed and ran her hand along his arm.

"Oh my god, you are _so _funny!" she exclaimed. "So, you wanna get out of here?"

"Back off, bitch," Serena said. The girl looked startled, but jumped off the bar and walked away.

Chuck turned around, too drunk to see her completely. His eyes were rolling all around and his head lolled to the side. "Look, it's my big sister, come to rescue me from the clutches off..." he didn't get any farther than that because he slumped forward.

Serena called a taxi and somehow managed to get Chuck back to his hotel. She tried not to look at his face, which freaked her out. She had _never_, not in all the years she'd known him, _ever _seen him like this. Seen him so completely gone.

Gently, she put him to bed, listening to his complaints. Serena's partying years paid off. She knew that when someone was as drunk as this, they shouldn't be left alone. It was dangerous. Who knew, he was probably baked on some designer drug or something, too. So she wrapped up in a blanket and curled up on the couch to wait for him to wake up.


	3. Chapter 3

Why the hell was she here? Chuck rolled over in bed. _Sunlight. Ow. _It hurt his eyes and he buried his face in his pillow. Serena was sitting on the couch, looking bedraggled.

"Get out," he said. "And close those damn curtains."

"I did not come here to fix your life, or whatever. I came here to tell you that this little charade of yours is over. No one at school feels sorry for you. No one is wondering where you are. No one _cares, _Chuck. So you might as well give it up and come back. Go back to living your normal little life. Okay?"

"This _is _my normal life," Chuck snapped. His head hurt really, really bad. "This is me, Chuck Bass."

"Have you looked at yourself lately, Chuck? Because just looking at you is freaking me out, like I'm at a bad Halloween party." Serena carried a hand-held mirror over to him. "Take a good look."

Chuck looked. Fine, he was a little bit goth-looking. Okay, he was a lot goth-looking. _Alright, _he was downright ugly. But it wasn't like he cared. He didn't look scary enough to change, if that was what Serena wanted.

"Here, coffee," Serena pushed a cup of coffee towards him. Chuck took it and set it down on the nightstand, refusing to drink it. He didn't _want _to be sober.

"How'd you find me?" he asked.

"You're not really hard to miss," Serena said. "I saw you and figured that you were a little bit _too _drunk."

Chuck laughed an empty, hollow laugh. "My father is dead, thanks to your mother. What do you want me to do?"

"Yes, your father is dead, Chuck. It's time for you to realize that and move on. It's been almost a month. Unless this is no longer about your dad?" she asked.

Who did she think she was, his shrink? "Get out," he said.

"No," Serena said.

"Get out!!!" Chuck yelled, at the top of her lungs.

Serena actually went. But then she turned around. "Blair is moving on. She's doing great, if you were wondering." Then she left. Finally!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hey," Vanessa said.

Jenny looked up from the new dress she was trying to make. "Trying" being the key word.

"Hi." She turned off her sewing machine and stretched her arms. Even though she and Vanessa had managed to apologize and forgive each other, it still felt wierd talking to the girl who had ruined every chance that she and Nate had had.

"How's it going?"

"Well, considering the fact that everyone around here has the eternal blues, I think it's going good."

Vanessa nodded and bit her lip. "Want to go hang out for a while?" she asked.

Jenny considered this. Stay here and hang out with your family who were all depressed, or go hang out with the girl who'd stolen the man of your dreams? The decision was a tough one.

"Actually, I'm thinking about staying around here today. I kind of need some alone time," she said, hinting that Vanessa should just leave her along.

Vanessa took the hint. "Okay. Well, call me later."

"I will." But it was an empty promise.

There was nothing to do in this freaking city. _Let's see: Blair and Serena are gone. Dan is trying to get over Serena. Dad is...who knows? Nate and Vanessa are in love. Chuck is gone. And I am trying to get over Nate. What does one do? _In a city full of _everything, _there was nothing.

Jenny decided to go to the park. She wrapped up warmly and strolled outside. She stopped and bought a cup of tea, then continued on her way. The park was almost empty, because normal people were curled up in their warm apartments with family and friends. Apparently Jenny wasn't normal.

"Bench taken?" asked someone.

Jenny looked up and found herself staring into the eyes of an angel. "Um, no," she said. "Well, except for me," she added. _How stupid can you get_? she asked herself.

He had light blonde hair and a muscular build. Kind of like someone else she knew.

"So you look totally bored," he said. "I'm John, by the way."

"Jenny," Jenny introduced herself. "And yeah, I am kind of bored. Just a little," she said laughing. "Winter is always kind of..."

"Yeah."

"And why are you out, braving the cold? Why aren't you staying inside like normal people?"

'I'm not normal," he said.

"That makes two of us," Jenny said.

"Why? I mean, why do you look so totally out of it?" he asked. "Sorry, don't mean to be nosy," he added.

Jenny looked at John, wondering why he was asking. "It's kind of a long story."

"I've got time."

"A really long story."

"I've got _hours_."

Jenny laughed. "Um, well..." Somehow she ended up telling him, a complete stranger, everything. It was in sheer desperation from not being able to tell _her _side of the story to someone. Someone who wouldn't judge.

"And he wasn't even mad at her for taking the letter?"

"No. He was mad at _me_."

John murmered sympathetically.

Jenny smiled long after they had parted. It felt really good to have talked to someone about all of this. Someone who didn't know any side of the story but her side. Someone who would take her side.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Yeah, Nate, man, it's John. So I just talked to Jenny. Just wanted to let you know that she's fine. She's got no feelings for you at all anymore. You owe me fifty bucks. Call me back."

John snapped his phone shut, grinning. Oh yes, Jenny was _fine_, indeed. She was perfect.


	4. Chapter 4

Hey, guys. Okay, so this chapter is very confusing, I admit. Please accept my apologies! So if you can stumble through it, I promise that the rest of the story is going to be fabulous! Promise.

***************************************************************

"I'm tired, Dan. Can we please go home now?" Jenny begged.

"Just wait a minute," Dan said. To be fair, they had been standing in the same bookstore for an hour and a half. But Dan was trying to find the perfect book. Something that his life compared to. And that certainly wasn't easy. "You can go if you want to." He said.

Jenny shook her head. "There's nothing to do at home," she said.

"Then you'll just have to wait a moment."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nate listened to his voice-mail. So Jenny was okay, and apparently she was over him. Good. _No, bad._ Maybe Vanessa was the "one" but he still had feelings for Jenny. Just tiny little feelings. He was sure that if he ignored them they'd go away.

Then there was Chuck to worry about. He didn't know where Chuck was, or how he was. Chuck alone in a big city like New York was dangerous. Nate wondered if he should hire someone to track Chuck down so that Nate could find him. But then again, maybe he should just leave him alone and let him come home when he was ready. Okay, whatever.

Nate missed his dad, despite all that the man had done. He missed going running with him every morning. He missed the happy family. Nate's mother wasn't very happy these days. Nate had tried to be sympathetic, but now it was just getting old. _Time to move on, Mom._

He wondered absently how Blair was. She probably was more worried about Chuck than he was, if that was possible. After all, she was _in love _with him.

Oh hey, there was Vanessa. With a guy. A very good-looking, smiling guy. What was she doing here with him, he wondered. Vanessa didn't seem like the kind of girl who went to the park on cold snowy days.

"Vanessa," he said, hoping he didn't sound jealous.

"Nate!" she exclaimed wrapping him in a huge hug and giving him a kiss. "Hi. Nate, this is my friend Jason. He's helping me out with a new film I'm making. And Jason, this is my boyfriend Nate."

They shook hands. Maybe Nate was imagining it, but Jason seemed a bit unfriendly towards him. What was up with that?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So anyways, as I was saying, it's like, totally obvious that Serena still likes Dan even though she's convinced that she likes Aaron. And I _know _that Aaron and Serena broke up, but Serena's convinced that as soon as Serena deals with Dan, she and Aaron can get back together and live happily ever after. Which is totally crazy because, how often does that happen?" Blair asked. The housekeeper looked at Blair like she was crazy. Blair rolled over in her bed and stared at the ceiling. What did one do when they had been deserted by their best friend and left to amuse themselves?

Lots of shopping in town, of course. There weren't many people out today, and the streets were deserted. Still, Blair found comfort in trying on tons of clothes and buying about fifty new dresses.

"Can you spare some change for breakfast, miss?"

Blair turned and regarded the homeless man. She knew better than to give people like him money, lest it should go to buying drugs or alcohol. Still, he did look hungry. It couldn't hurt to buy him breakfast, could it?

"Come on," she sighed. "I'll buy you something to eat."

Blair took the man to a small diner in town and bought him a huge meal. She ate pancakes.

It was kind of awkward, watching him shovel the food into his mouth. But when he finally slowed down, she asked.

"So, what's your name?"

He looked up, wiping his face with a napkin. "Charles."

Blair dropped her fork and it made a loud clatter. She frowned into her pancakes. "Sorry," she muttered. "So...Charles. What happened?" Blair never realized until later that it was a rude questioned that might have been painful to answer.

"Well, um..." Charles wiped his face again and took a drink of coffee. "I graduated from high school a few months ago. My parents wanted me to go to college but I thought that I wanted to take a break. To enjoy life for a while, you know? But they said that if I didn't go to college I had to get a job. When I refused, they kicked me out."

"And you've been on your own since then?"

"Yep. I'm doing the best I can."

Blair looked at his shabby clothes and long hair and frowned. She wanted to take him to a hotel, make him bathe, and buy him a new wardrobe. That wouldn't work, of course.

"Oh."

"It must be really easy being rich."

"What?"

"You know. Being able to buy as many clothes as you want, always having a place to live, having friends, and not ever having to worry about getting a job."

Blair considered this. What that really the way her life was? No, it was not. "Not really," she said. "You might have plenty of money, but...you never know who your real friends are. There's of drama. And..." she trailed off. _There's Chuck._

"Sounds better than this."

_Maybe. I wish I knew. _

_*********************************************************_

Again, I know that this chapter is certainly not the best. I know that it is a little confusing.


	5. Chapter 5

So I have been told anonamosly that I use too many elipsis marks (...). I suppose it's true. But they do help me to express awkward pauses in conversations.

******************************************************************

"Let's go home," Serena said.

"What? Why? This is our vacation," Blair whined. Serena had gotten back yesterday and already she wanted to go home.

"I know, but it _is _winter here and I really don't think you're having such a great time."

Blair sighed. "Not really. But I've only been here, like, two days and now that you're back maybe we could go skating, or..." she sighed again. "Maybe I could go stay with my dad for a few weeks."

"Yeah." Serena's phone rang. "Hey, just a second."

Serena went into the bedroom and closed the door behind her. Then she answered her phone. "Where are you?" she asked.

"I'm at the airport," Chuck said lazily.

"Why?"

"I'm getting a change of scenary. Can you do me a favor?"

Serena rolled her eyes. "What?"

"I need you to transfer some money into one of my accounts."

"Hey! Are you in trouble?"

"No. But since you are, like it or not, my step-sister the bank will give you access to the money. I need you to take all the money out of my fathers account. Put it in mine."

"Okay."

"His account number is in the address book in his study."

"Okay. Where are you going?"

"Somewhere far away."

Serena looked at her phone after Chuck had hung up. The call hadn't been a long one- fourty-two seconds exactly. Chuck hadn't _sounded _like he was in trouble but Serena happened to know that there was a lot of money in Bart's bank account. What could Chuck possibly need all of it for?

And where was Chuck going?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Home again. Yuck. Blair looked around her room. Girlish giggles reached her ears, even through the closed and locked door.

So Eleanor's friend's daughter had been invited to stay with the Wardorf/Roses for two weeks. Ick. The girl, Hannah, had barely even arrived before she'd started flirting with Aaron. _Yuck! _What would Serena say?

Blair picked up her phone, and hit the speed dial. The phone went straight to voice mail.

"This is Chuck. Leave a message and I might call you back."

"Hey, Chuck. It's Blair. Again. Uh...I don't know where you are, and I really need to talk to you about...something. If you ever get to this message, please call me back. Bye."

She missed Chuck. But, if she was honest with herself, she missed the manipulative games rather than Chuck himself. Life was too quiet without him here.

"Oh, my god you did _not _just say that!" Hannah's voice squealed down the hallway.

Maybe he hadn't, but she would. Blair threw the book she had been reading across the room where it hit the wall with a dull thud. She jumped off her bed and went down to the living room.

"Would you shut up?" she said.

"Excuse me?" Hannah asked.

"If you don't know how to laugh like a human being, and not like a mouse, then do all of us a favor and don't laugh at all. And you can stop your flirting, he's taken," she said pointedly. Aaron looked somewhat disappointed but didn't disagree.

"Blair, darling," Elenor said, looking somewhat sour. "Let's not ruin the mood."

"What? What mood?"

"Blair!"

"Okay, I'm sorry! I'm going to go out."

"Where?"

"Just out!" Blair grabbed her coat and left.

She was in the lobby when she noticed Chuck standing at the front desk. "Chuck." She grabbed his shoulder and turned him around to find, to her utter embarrasment, that the man was not Chuck, only a look-a-like. Blair laughed in embarrasment. "I'm so sorry. You look exactly like..."

"Chuck Bass?" the man asked. "I'm Jack Bass, Chuck's uncle. Do you know where Chuck is?"

Blair shook her head. "No. I haven't heard from him since...for quite a while."

"Well...are you leaving right now?"

"Um, yeah, unfortunately."

"It's fine. Come on, let's walk."

Jack took Blair's arm and led her outside. "How do you know him?"

"We've friends since we were little kids. And his step-sister is my best friend."

"Serena van der Woodsen. Would she know where Chuck is?"

"If she'd heard from him, I'm sure she would have told me." Blair said. Serena knew how much she cared about Chuck, even if she didn't understand it. If she _had _heard from Chuck, she would have told Blair, wouldn't she have?

"Can you tell me where Serena lives?"

"Sure. Let's go." It was amazingly sad how much Chuck and Jack looked alike. "So why are you looking for Chuck?"

"I want to be his legal guardian. And from what I've heard, lately he's been a bit..."

"Worse than usual," Blair finished.

"Yes."

How would Chuck feel about his uncle becoming his guardian?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hey, dad, I'm leaving now!" Dan called.

"Where are you going?" asked Rufus.

"Vanessa's. She has a book that I need to borrow, and then I'm going to see Serena."

"Oh. Okay."

Dan shook his head and left. Maybe Serena would know what was wrong with his dad and if it had something to do with Lilly.

Dan didn't bother knocking at Vanessa's door. She wouldn't be home, anyway. But when he opened the door, he wished he had. Because he walked in on Vanessa and some guy who was definately not Nate sharing a passionate kiss. Or groping session, whatever.

"Wow. Uh... I'm sorry. I'll just go..." Dan closed the door again, ignoring Vanessa as she ran after him.

"Dan. That's not what it looked like," she pleaded.

Turning around Dan said, "Really? Because it looked like you were kissing some guy who was not Nate? Did you guys break up or something?"

"No. But that was just...a scene for a new movie we're working on."

"Really? Because I didn't see a camera."

Vanessa looked around guiltily.

"I'm not going to say anything, mostly because Nate and I don't talk anymore."

Vanessa smiled. "Dan..."

Dan held up his hands and backed away.

Poor Nate. Looks like he's been cheated on. Again.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

********************************************

Hey, guys. Thanks for all the wonderful reviews. I hope you're liking the story so far. Enjoy. (Please review!!!)

XOXO


	6. Chapter 6

"So, Dad..." Jenny asked. "What do you think?"

"Hmm? About what?"

"About me going back to school at Constance."

"Oh. Well, Jen, that's great and all but aren't you forgetting that mistress Queller kind of expelled you?"

"I already talked to her. She'll take me back if I write a ten thousand word report and then do thirty-six hours of community service."

"And why do you want to go back?"

"Dad, I'm a dress-less, carreer-less, dreamless teen who's been at home for months doing homework. I want to go back," Jenny said earnestly.

"Okay."

"Thank you!" she hugged her dad. "I'm going to go see Eric, okay?"

"Yeah."

Jenny left. Okay, so she wasn't going to meet Eric. She was going to meet John. Since her father was still amandant on the fact that she wasn't old enough to date, she and John had been doing a lot of sneaking around. But it was kind of like the whole Romeo and Juliet thing. She liked it. But, in all fairness, Jenny and John weren't _actually _a couple yet.

"Hey," she told John, sneaking up behind him.

He jumped, but returned the greeting. "Just the person I wanted to see."

"Really?" Jenny asked.

"Yeah. I wanted to ask you something."

"What?"

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nate stopped, shocked at what he was hearing.

"So, Jenny, listen. I've had a really great time with you these last few days. So I think that we should officially go together now."

"Really?" Jenny trilled. "Well, uh... I think so too."

Nate closed his eyes and leaned his head against the cold cement of the wall. John and Jenny were just around the corner, sitting on a bench. _Not good, not good, not good. Bad, bad, bad! _Jenny had no idea what kind of person John was. He was like Chuck Jr. But worse, if that was possible.

John and Jenny parted soon after. As luck would have it, John went away and Jenny stayed. Nate rounded the corner. "Jenny! Hey," he said, just a bit too cheerily.

She looked up. "Uh...Nate. What are you doing here?"

"Um...I was in the neighborhood."

"Oh, right. Vanessa." Nate sat down beside Jenny. "And I heard your conversation with John."

"Yeah," she said simply. "Wait, how do you know his name?"

"Because I sent him to talk to you in the first place. I just never thought it would develop into this. And I think that I should warn you about John."

"What do you mean?"

"John is like Chuck. He's a terrible person."

Instantly Jenny became offensive. "What?"

"John is not what you think. He's dangerous."

Jenny laughed bitterly. "I can't believe you!"

Nate sighed.

"Okay, you know what? You're just mad that I will not be there to be a social rebound when your relationship with Vanessa crashes. Because John is a great person. He's been nothing but sweet to me since I met him."

"Jenny, wait, you have to believe me!"

"Nate. I punished myself for days for what I did to Vanessa. And I'm sorry, okay? But that's over now, and I'm ready to move on. But you have to let me. You chose to be with Vanessa and now you have to accept the fact that I'm with someone else now."

"Jenny..."

Jenny stood up and walked away. She never looked back. Why did he feel like his life had just deserted him?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I can't believe that he called you and you didn't tell me!" Blair yelled.

"Look, he was going away. It's not like you could run after him again. You didn't find him the first time. And I didn't think that this time was going to be any different," Serena said. Blair was being so difficult. Jack Bass had showed up at Serena's house yesterday, asking about Chuck. Serena had had no choice but to tell him that Chuck had ran away. Jack had left immediately but Blair had been drilling Serena about it ever since. When had Chuck called? How much money had he needed? Did he say where he was going. And why hadn't Serena informed her about this newest development.

"Serena? You have a visitor!" Lilly called up the stairs.

"Thanks, mom!" Serena called back. She turned to Blair and smiled. "I'm sorry, okay. I should have told you."

"Next time?"

"Promise." Good. That fight had been averted.

"Oh. Hey, Dan!" Serena exclaimed upon seeing Dan sitting on the sofa. He stood up.

"Hey. How was your trip?" he asked, almost immediately.

"It was uh...well, it ended with Aaron and I breaking up."

"Wha- Oh." Dan looked confused, then happy. "So what, does this mean..."

"No." Serena said. "Aaron and I are going to get back together. But I just wanted to let you know."

"O...kay. I'm going to go."

"Wait, Dan!"

"Why would you tell me that?"

"I just thought that maybe you should know."

"Whatever. I'm leaving."

Serena was going to run after him, but her phone rang.

"Hello?" she said.

"Serena? This is Jack. I've got Chuck and our plane is landing soon. Can you meet me at Chuck's suite?"

"Uh...yeah. Sure. I'm on my way. Blair!" Serena put her phone in her bag.

"What?" Blair came running down the stairs.

"We need to go."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From the window, Blair watched Jack drag Chuck out of the limo. "He doesn't look too good," she observed.

"That's why we have plenty of coffee and food."

When Jack and Chuck arrived, Blair was sitting at the bar and Serena was seated on the sofa. Jack half dragged, half carried Chuck into the room. "Coffee," he snapped.

Serena poured him a cup. Chuck slurped it down.

"Where did you find him?" Serena asked.

"At a strip club in Bangok."

"Oh," Blair said. "How nice."

"Chuck you can't keep living like this," Serena said.

Chuck smiled lazily. "I know. But Bart would be so...disappointed in me if he knew. Then again, he always was."

Blair rolled her eyes. "Chuck, the whole sorry act has expired. It's been a month."

"Right," Jack said. "Which is why you are returning to school and are going to stop these charades."

"If you say so." Chuck took another drink of his coffee agreeably. He looked at Blair, who was staring at the countertop and his eyes softened. Serena suddenly felt very lonely.

***************************************************************

okay, guys, several major scandals in the next chapter!!! Be warned!!!!

I need reviews, so please review as soon as you're done reading. XOXO


	7. Chapter 7

"So things aren't going that great, huh?" Serena asked Chuck that evening. Blair had left and so had Jack. But Serena had elected herself to stay and make sure that Chuck didn't run away again.

Chuck flipped through TV channels. "Can we _not _talk about it?"

"Look, I know that you probably still think that my mother cheated on Bart with Rufus. But I really don't think..."

"It doesn't matter now."

"Why not?"

"Bart cheated on her first."

"What?"

"In Bangok. One of the girls at the local night club recognized the name. Told me the whole story." Chuck turned off the TV. "Lilly didn't do anything."

Serena sat down next to Chuck. "I'm sorry," she said.

Chuck moved away from her, to the mini bar. Serena began to warn him not to drink anything stronger than coffee. "I know," he cut her off. "So how has Blair been?"

"She's doing good, actually. We went to the Hamptons for a while when I got back from Buenas Ares. Then things got better and we came back. Then you showed up again. Chuck, don't hurt her, okay?"

"Nah. Chuck and Blair is never going to happen. I don't want it to."

Serena nodded. There was silence. Then she said, "Blair went after you, you know."

"I know."

"Really?"

"Uh...she found me in the company of two lovely ladies and left. But not before we traded some heated words."

"Oh. She never told me that part."

Chuck went to stand in front of the window. "Heard that you and Aaron broke up," he said, changing the subject.

"Well, we weren't really..."

"With a last name like _Rose _how long can you really hold on to your dignity?" Chuck wondered aloud.

Serena laughed. Chuck could be so...charming at times. "We were supposed to get back together, but I really don't want to. What are you looking at?" she asked. Chuck's eyes were glued to something. Serena found that it was Blair. She and Jack were having a conversation outside.

"Okay, really, Chuck..."

"_I know!" _

"I've never seen you act like this. It's kind of funny. But heartbreaking," she added, seeing the look on his face.

"I've come to terms with the fact that Blair and Chuck aren't going to happen." His voice had that lazy swing to it.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Serena was still asleep when Chuck woke up the next morning. Or afternoon. It was one-thirty. And Chuck wanted to see Blair. To talk to her alone and tell her that he was sorry for everything. With any luck, by tomorrow things could be okay for them at school. Since Chuck was expected to return back to St. Judes tomorrow.

Dorota told Chuck that Miss Blair would see him shortly, but Chuck took the liberty of climbing the stairs anyways. What he saw made him regret it. It made him regret going to the penthouse. It made him regret even coming back from Bangok. The bathroom door hadn't been closed all the way. All Chuck saw was Blair. And Aaron. In the shower. Or, from what he could tell. The girl's laugh was just like Blair's when she was... Yeah.

Chuck turned away in disgust. Slut. Bitch. Whore. How could she have? With her _Aaron??? _How long had this been going on? One thing was certain. Chuck was not sad. He was mad.

We all know how it goes on the Upper East Side. Don't get mad. Get even.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Serena had been drunk. Of that she was certain. What she couldn't figure out was how she had gotten drunk. She remembered waking up to find Chuck drinking. She had tried to stop him, but somehow she'd taken a glass of something too. And now they were laying here in the middle of the room, passing a bottle back and forth.

"With _Aaron?_" she asked, for the fifty millionth time. Why wouldn't the room stop spinning. Oh yeah. Because she was _drunk! _And she was really hurt too.

"Uh-huh. So it seems," Chuck said, raising his self on one elbow, " that you and I are in the same boat."

Serena laughed. "I guess that you are correct." She rolled over. "Chuck, I'm sorry. About this whole thing with Blair. And then you come back and see..."

"Forget about it." Chuck's voice was lazy and whispery. His face came closer and closer to Serena's. They kissed, and the rest of the night melted into fog.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What the hell is going on here?" Bliar screeched, her voice high and panicky.

"Uh...Blair..."

Blair didn't give Aaron a chance to finish. She ran down the stairs, yelling.

"Mom!" She found her mom drinking tea and reading an _Instyle _magazine. Blair pointed an outstretched arm behind her. "Aaron and...Hannah are in my bedroom...in my bathroom...in my shower doing... Err!" she growled dramatically. "Make them stop!"

Eleanor had already set down her tea and was going up the stairs two at a time. Blair sat down on the sofa and crossed her arms angrily, not wanting to see the ugly scene again. Her room was contaminated. What had they been thinking? What if someone had seen them and thought that it was _her. _Yuck. Her life would be ruined forever.

Eleanor was yelling, more at the fact that it had been in Blair's bathroom than anything else. Blair rolled her eyes. She needed to go see someone. Namely, Chuck.

********************************************************

Hey, readers! Okay, here's the deal. I'm letting you decide on the fate of Serena and Chuck's night. Should things have gone ...let's say: all the way, or should it have stayed with a drunken kiss? Whichever gets the most popular vote will be the way it went. But you need to get back to me ASAP. Hope you like it, and please (review). :) :)


	8. Chapter 8

Thanks for all the WONDERFUL reviews. Thank you guys so much. I'm glad that you like it so far. I'd just like to say that there will be two more chapters and then (if you all would like) I will be starting a sequel. So read, enjoy, and review!

******************************************************************************************************************

**Ahhh...School. After Christmas vacation is over, it's a time for new beginnings, new friends, and time to put those New Years Resolutions to the test. And, if you happen to be a certain boy that we all know, it's time to buckle down and say goodbye to the partying. Of course, it's a good intention. But just how will it follow through?**

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_And why exactly are you wasting your time worrying about him? He's obviously over you. And you know what? You are totally over him, too._

Blair decided this in her sleep, and when she woke up she smiled happily. Strange how things are so easily decided when you are asleep. Her mind re-focused to hear Dorota who was insisting that she eat her breakfast like a good girl. Great, like she really _needed _to eat. She'd been eating everything in sight over the last two days. Yuck, and she'd gained four pounds. So unnatractive.

"You cannot believe how nice it was to look at my bathroom. And guess what? There was no one else there," Blair said sarcastically, munching on a piece of toast. She glared at Hannah. "So exactly how long are you going to be here?" she asked rudely.

"I'm leaving today _Miss Priss_," Hannah returned.

_Good, _Blair thought. It was bad enought that she'd gotten a glimpse of her step-brother in his nakedness, let alone the fact that neither he nor Hannah seemed to be embarrased about any of it.

"Now, Blair, let's let the past rest," Blair's mother said. "I understand that Charles Bass is back in town. How _is _that boy doing?"

"How would I know?" Blair asked. "It's not like I have to go out of my way to compare notes with him, is it?"

"Serena says that the will-reading of Bart Bass is tomorrow. Jack Bass is also signing some papers to become Chuck's new guardian," Aaron spoke up.

Blair sneered at him. Serena had told her that she and Aaron would _not _be getting back together after all. There were certain complications. From this, Blair infered that Serena had spoken to Dan and she had realized that she still liked him. But then again, after the overheard conversation of Serena and Dan the other day at Serena's, that seemed unlikely. But Blair was probably the last person on earth to be deciding the fate of relationships.

Blair noticed that Serena was looking at her strangely. Why was that? Had she done something wrong? Or had Chuck said something about her? Ugh, probably. Who knew what went on in that sick mind of his.

"Morning, Waldorf," Chuck said in greeting.

Blair turned an evil eye upon him. He withered and retreated. He was looking at her strangely, too. But not in the same way that Serena had been looking at her. Chuck looked hurt and disgusted at the same time. "What is going on here?" Blair asked Serena in a low voice.

Serena ran a hand through her golden curls. "Oh, hey, there's Dan. I need to talk to him. I'll be right back."

Just in time to save Blair from looking like she'd been deserted by her friend, Hazel, Kati, and Isabell walked over.

"Hey, Blair," Hazel said. "Look who's back."

Blair followed her gaze to where little Jenney Humphrey was standing with Eric.

"The nerve of that girl!"

"Leave her alone. We have bigger fish to fry." Blair had lost all interest in pursuing little J. There was too much on her mind these days. Besides, Jenny and she had been well...not fighting lately.

But...hey!

"Oh, my god," Isabell said, her voice a bit stunned and jealous. "Look at that."

A guy had met Jenney, and, after enveloping her in his arms, they kissed.

"Do you think he's gay, too?"

"No. That's John Fryer. He's only like, the most popular guy here. Besides Nate, of course. How did she manage to hook him?"

"I'm...going to the ladies room girls. Back in a second," Blair made the excuse and went. Really, she just needed a place where she could be alone.

That never really happened, because Blair rounded a corner in the courtyard and bumped into someone. "Why don't you watch where your going..." she started, then broke off as she noticed who she'd bumped into. He was gorgeous. "Oh," she began again. "I'm so sorry."

"No problem. I probably should have been more alert there."

Blair laughed and flirted, not noticing Chuck's hateful stare at the boy from across the courtyard.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Serena had woken up that morning in Chuck's bed. Her heart skipped a beat as she looked down at herself. With a sigh of relief, she realized that she was still fully clothed. Thank goodness. Chuck was laying on the floor, his mouth open slightly and an empty gin bottle clenched in his right hand. Serena pulled herself out of bed and stood over him.

"Hey! Chuck. C'mon. School today," she said, bending over him.

Chuck's eyes opened. "Just five more minutes, mom," he whined in a fake singsong voice.

"Get up!" she said sternly. Ooh. Her head hurt. "Unless you want to explain to your uncle why you got drunk _again _last night."

Chuck groaned, rolled onto his side, and stood up. He stumbled to the phone and called for breakfast. "Please tell me that you did not re-dress me."

Serena rolled her eyes and sat down on a barstool. "Nothing happened, Chuck. Well, to the best of my knowledge."

"Shame."

Serena glared. "So. Ready to face Blair?"

Chuck ignored this. "Let's just get this day over with."

They had eaten and went to school in Chuck's limo. Serena actually liked to play the role of big sister to Chuck. He looked like he needed some nurturing right now. He obviously couldn't go to Blair. Strangely enough, Serena wasn't even upset with Aaron or Blair. She was over Aaron. And Blair was...probably dealing with everything in her own way. Besides, who was she to blame Blair? She and Chuck had just made out last night. She couldn't very well point the finger.

At school, Serena met Blair. But as soon as Blair asked her why Chuck was acting funny, Serena decided to bail. If Blair wanted to know what was wrong, then she'd have to ask Chuck herself.

"Dan! Wait!" Serena called.

Dan stopped and turned around. "Serena," he said.

"Um...hey, look I'm sorry. I probably shouldn't have done what I did, and...I'm really confused and I'm trying to figure all this out, okay? So if...yeah. I'm sorry."

"I know." Dan shook his head and laughed. "What I mean is; we both said some things. It's okay, because I really want to figure this out. Okay?"

"Right. Yeah. Um..."

"Lunch. We should get lunch together."

Serena smiled. "I'd like that."

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Nate watched John and Jenny make out. He'd been brooding all day. Ever since he'd first seen them together. Okay, maybe John really had changed. It was possible, but not probable. And he _knew _that Jenny had done a terrible thing to Vanessa. But he couldn't help feeling like maybe it wasn't as bad as it seemed. Jenny had said that she had felt terrible about it. Jenny had always been someone that he wanted to protect. And he _liked _protecting her.

Vanessa, on the other hand, hadn't called him all week and when he had last seen him, she'd been aloof. There was something going on there, and he wanted to know what it was. But Jenny was... so different.

"Hey, Jenny," John said before they parted. "I'm having a party at my place on Saturday. Wanna come?"

"Sure," she said, laughing. "See you later."

"Right."

Nate overheard this conversation and dug his nails into his palms. He definately wouldn't be missing that party on Saturday, either.

*****************************************************************

**Authors Note: **Just a short little chapter to update this story. Let's just say: things are going to get hot from here on out. So please, please review!!! XOXO


End file.
